New Police Minister, Ginny Andersen, has today announced the nationwide rollout of a new Tactical Response Model for Police as part of a plan to make boost officer safety.
Minister Andersen said frontline Police staff faced high-risk situations daily as they increasingly respond to sophisticated organised crime, gang-violence and the availability of illegal firearms.
“The Tactical Response Model being launched today will make it safer for Police on the job by applying smart Policing to anticipate dangerous and high-risk situations before they arise,” the Minister said.
The model uses Police intelligence to risk-assess situations early, builds decision-making and critical thinking skills while under pressure and backs that with Offender Prevention Teams and two-person Tactical Dog Teams coming on board in each district.
“This Government is proud to deliver another significant investment in Police, this follows investment in front line staff. We are on track to reach our target of 1800 more officers on the ground by the end of June this year,” said Ms Andersen.
“We’ve supported the programme at every step since its inception, culminating in Cabinet approval for a further $122.5 million to fully train and equip all front line officers in these areas nationwide.
“It’s critical to give front-line Police a higher level of protection without changing New Zealand’s community policing approach – which we strongly believe is effective and appropriate for our country.”
Police has been testing the model since November 2021 in four Police Districts – Northland, Counties Manukau, Waikato, and Central – with impressive results and strong support from frontline staff, the Minister said.
“It was developed with significant input from frontline officers and received extensive community consultation, including with Māori, Pacific and ethnic community leaders,” she said.
“Policing the public will see under the new model will be the same as what they see now, but those causing most harm in our communities will feel the difference because Police will have an increasingly comprehensive suite of tools to work with.”
The Minister said national roll-out of the model will primarily involve establishing Tactical Teams in the eight Districts not involved in the trial.
